Paul's Epistles – Titus – Part 1:
Introduction
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith
Church | www.PS127.org
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SERMON INTRODUCTION
Unlike some of the other epistles attributed
cautiously to Paul, nearly all agree that without a doubt, Titus is most
definitely Paul’s workmanship.
Some thought that because of its strong emphasis on
“works”, Paul did not write it. (1:16; 2:7, 14; 3:1, 8, 14 ),
however Titus 3:5 gives the answer to that objection, “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because
of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the
Holy Spirit,”
It is clear Paul is pressing the issue of works, not
for salvation sake, but in an effort to promote “godliness” which comes from
knowledge of the Truth, a godliness which “produces” works naturally as its fruits.
Galatians 5:22-23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no
law.”
This letter was written approximately the same time,
and more than likely the same place as I Timothy.
PREVIOUSLY
II Timothy Series (written after Titus)
TODAY’S SERMON
Introduction to Titus
Titus 1:1-4 (65 AD, written between I Timothy and II
Timothy)
1 Paul, a servant of God and
an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their
knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – 2 in the hope of eternal life, which
God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and which
now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching
entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true son in our common
faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
The overall message of this
epistle to the church is;
God’s ideal for the
Christian Church and Christian Workers
I. THE LETTER TO TITUS
a. It is clear that Paul wrote
this letter to Titus, one of his converts
i. Titus
must have been converted early on, because he accompanied Paul and Barnabas on
Paul’s first missionary journey 10 or so years after Paul’s conversion
ii. Paul’s conversion was between 33-36 AD
iii. The first missionary trip was late spring of 44 AD
iv. So Titus has been serving the ministry for at least 23+ years at this
time
b. Paul refers to Titus as his
“true son in our common faith”
i. While
Timothy had been brought up as a Jew, and was circumcised by Paul, Titus was a
pure Gentile and not circumcised (Galatians
2:3)
ii. Titus was also older than Timothy, and much stronger physically and
morally
iii. We see this by Paul being less anxious about the conduct of Titus, and
the way others might treat him.
c. The letter and its contents
i. Paul
does not give the Cretians a very good character.
ii. Titus 1:12,13 “One of Crete’s
own prophets has said it: ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy
gluttons.’ 13 This
saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in
the faith”
1. Those weak in faith and understanding may judge Paul saying, “Isn’t he
gossiping? Isn’t that slander? Isn’t he talking about brothers and sister
negatively?”
2. Nothing Paul said was a)false, or b) meant to hurt or defame
3. Rather, what was said was to prepare Titus for teaching and rebuking
for THE GOOD of the Cretians spiritual growth and so they would have a strong,
sound faith
iii. Because the Cretians previous to Roman conquest in 67 BC were
accustomed to a democratic form of government, they would likely struggle with
Roman rule. For these reasons Paul gave Titus instructions which would be very
unwelcoming to the Cretian converts.
iv. Recognizing the difficulties they would have, Paul instructs Titus on
this delicate mission and putting things in order.
v. Paul
had great faith in Titus’ wisdom, and ability
d. Paul also quotes Heathen
writers in scripture
i. Paul
is the only New Testament writer who quotes from Heathen writers. He does so
three times;
1. Titus 1:12 “One of
Crete’s own prophets has said it:...”
2. Acts 17:28 - From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides; and the Cilician Stoic
philosopher Aratus
3. I Corinthians 15:33 - From the Greek poet Menander
ii. Paul was well versed and educated, and used his worldly knowledge to
reach the world, he used things of the world to build bridges and relationships
to reach the unreachable.
1. The ancient Greeks were so afraid of offending “the gods”, they had a
statue worshipping Agnostos Theos, (LIT agnostos:Unknown Theos:God)
2. Angnostos is where we get the term Agnostic, meaning we cannot “know”,
or it is “unknown” if there is a God, which is different from Atheist
3. Meaning there “is no” god
4. Paul seeing the people stood upon Areopagus (a prominent rock
outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece), and told the
people in Acts 17 that he
knew who this God was, and used their pagan belief to build a bridge and
minister to them the Truth of the Gospel.
iii. This epistle (letter to Titus) enables us to see that Christ’s personal
and pre-millennial coming, of which Paul wrote so fully to the Thessalonians
thirteen years before in 52 AD, some 20 years after his conversion, was still
to him in his old age a blessed hope. (Titus
2:13)
II.
THE BREAKDOWN OF THE LETTER
a. The somewhat short letter
is broken into three parts
i. An
Orderly Church (Church Order)
1. The qualifications of eldership
2. Unruly character of Cretians (believers)
3. and a note in verse 15, “Unto the pure, all things are pure.”
ii. A Sound Church (Church Doctrine)
1. A message for Titus
2. the Aged
3. the Young
4. and slaves
5. then Paul gives All the Gospel - Past, Present and future (Titus 2:11-14)
iii. A Practical Church (Works of the Church)
1. Practical citizenship
2. Practical godliness
3. Sad retrospect
4. What led to our transformation
5. Need for practical piety (goodness, godliness, holiness)
6. What to avoid
7. Whom to avoid
8. Conclusion
III.
THE INTRODUCTION
a. Paul begins his letter to
Titus by stating his intent
i. Verse
4, ”as a servant of God {because} and an Apostle of Jesus Christ
{because} to further the faith of God’s elect {to accomplish} and
their knowledge of the Truth {to accomplish} which leads to godliness
{the goal}
1. Because Paul is a servant of God and an Apostle of
Jesus Christ
2. He set out to further the faith of Christians and their
knowledge of the Truth
3. So that it would lead them to godliness
b. In hope of eternal life
i. Not
our modern use and understanding of the word hope, which is usually meant as a
wish for something you want, i.e. “I hope I win the lotto.”
ii. Today hope means a feeling of expectation and desire for something to
happen
iii. However in archaic times, hope was a feeling of trust for something you
knew was coming or going to happen
iv. i.e. “My hope is in the Lord”
c. A hope of eternal life
i. Meaning,
that is what I have to look forward to
ii. Which God does not lie (LIT. GRK vs2 “un-liable God”)
iii. He does not lie, cannot lie, and has promised before the beginning of
time.
d. At this appointed season
i. God
has brought light (understanding) through the PREACHING entrusted to me
CONCLUSION
– the overall message of titus
God’s ideal for a
church: Orderly organization, soundness in faith and morals, and practical
works of piety and philanthropy.
God’s ideal for a
Christian worker: A love of order and method, a healthy and living prevailing
attitude, a sober manor/demeanor, and disciplined speech.
Next week we will look at Paul explaining how
the church is to appoint elders.
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